The Witches

Chapter 1: It's In Your Genes

What does Mrs Voss even mean? This is illegal, what they did to me and all these other "students" is

illegal and they should be in jail for this.

My family will miss me, will wonder where I am. Didn't they think about that? Think that maybe

someone's family is worried sick that their child disappeared and most probably went to the police by

now.

I'm going to do something about this. I don't belong here, despite the kak that Mrs Voss told me.

Ugh.

"It's in your genes, "

Genes? It's in my fucking genes? Sure I don't know who my parents are. I mean I know their names

and what they look like. I've seen them on pictures, they always looked so in love whenever they're

together in shots. They received me at a young age, mom was my age when I was born, fourteen.

They say I look a lot like her, I don't mind when I hear that. Mom was very beautiful I have yet to see

beauty compare to hers. She had that strong high cheekbones and small eyes, and she had that

golden yellow healthy skin us coloureds are known for and beautiful long lustrous pitch-black hair.

And dad, he wasn't bad looking himself. He was tall, and like Cape Coloureds he didn't have front

teeth. He was more brown than yellow and had big almond-shaped eyes. Aunt says all the girls wanted

him when he was still alive but the love he had for mom made him blind.

But to say that they or at least one of them is a witch is a horrible thing to say. How dare Mrs Voss.

Okay, the way I came here was strange, very strange. I was sitting in front of the tv doing my

homework when suddenly the whole house vibrated.

I freaked out, but I didn't scream or anything like that. Yeah, my eyes bulge from my skull but I was in

shock. There aren't any earthquakes in Cape Town, so I didn't know what this could be.

My whole body was vibrating when suddenly a white light surrounded me and the next thing I know is

that I am here.

"03 January 2015"

"Welcome to Meledsan Academy. I'm Mrs Voss, headmistress and this Mr Henley, headmaster."

The students have been waiting in the cafeteria for hours on end for something, anything because we

were scared and nervous. Not all of us seemed unfamiliar with this place. Some seemed to be happy

that they've received what they call around here, "The Calling, "

'Not many witches get them,' Margot told me as she gave me a mini-tour after Mrs Voss's welcoming

speech.

'What do you and Mrs Voss mean? Witches? Warlocks, those things are fictional, '

Margot gave me a bright smile, revealing her big beautiful white teeth. She tucked her purple fluffy pen

behind her ear so that it can rest between her ear and her red hair. "Tamzyn, isn't it?"

I nodded my head. I gave her my name not even five minutes ago.

'How did you come here, and since you came. What have you seen?'

I looked her in her big deep-set green eyes and shrugged.

I took this moment to look around me. Around the campus.

What I saw where many students and teachers, of course. Meledsan Academy is a busy place. Some

students were flying on brooms, others were playing with wands that spat actual magic out. They

seemed okay with this, this seemed normal to everyone here and no one was freaking out.

How could I have missed something so strange? I mean yeah we were stuck indoors and all these

fictional things happened outside, but still, there should have been a sign or something.

I'm here and it's in my genes. My mom or dad or both was a witch. Who hides something so big from

their family? Does my aunt know? Is my aunt a witch too?

I don't know, but what I do know is that this is way too much to take in. I can't with all this.

"So, the next few weeks is called the week of tests," Margot mentioned yesterday. "It is when we are

being tested by Meledsan to see where we belong. Are we white witches or black,"

I looked at Margot and nodded my head. I had two things on my mind. One, how can Meledsan test a

person? It's a place. Is Margot trying to say the ground I'm standing on is alive? I didn't want to ask her

because I didn't want to make a fool out of myself, so I asked her the second thing, 'which one are

you?'

Margot chuckled, I loved how broad her mouth is and how wide it opens for her laugh. It makes it so

much more precious than it is. No homo though ;)

"What do you think? Black witches are normally evil people, they wouldn't waste their time welcoming

someone in,"

'Margot, I'm not a witch. This is a mistake,'

Margot gave me that broad smile and placed her large hands on my shoulders and sighed, 'I felt out of

place the first time too. But you have got to trust Meledsan, it doesn't make mistakes. Now come,

lemme take you to your new room,'

I have no roommates yet. My room is large, and there were four double beds in there. Already covered

with black pillow covers and a white duvet. I chose the bed in the far corner. Each bed has a large

brown bedside table with a dairy on it, this one I'm writing in right this moment. I'm not even sure why

we are to use these books, but I'm gonna write about this weird journey for in case aunt Viv has

questions.

Margot is to take me to a wand shop today because I need to start practising soon. She told me to wait

for her outside by the fountain. The fountain is situated outside the main building of the academy.

I saw her approaching me with a broad smile again. She is a friendly Margot.

"Sorry I took so long, had to show another student around. Kelsey, she has accidental pink hair that

she can't get rid off but I think she looks cute,"

I gave Margot a small smile. I'm still new here and so I still feel out of place and I hate how that makes

me feel.

"What'd you mean by, 'accidental' "?

She laughed, " just that," she replied and started moving towards the shop, "her naughty little brother

played with a wand. He hasn't been blessed with magic yet and so him playing with magical

instruments could get dangerous. He doesn't know spells so he doesn't even know how he gave her

the pink hair thus not knowing how to undo it,"

I giggled. I think Margot wanted to tell me the story to ease me up a bit. We reached the shop. It was a

huge double story shop, Dudgeon's Wonderous Wands with a huge wand placed over the door's

entrance.

The place was surrounded by wands, sceptres and staffs. The owner, Jeffrey Dudgeon explained to me

that different magic users and depending on the courses in life you take means different magic sticks.

Me, being a beginner student with no clue what she wants to be will use a wand for now.

I asked him if I could take a picture, he agreed. I just want to compile something here. My testimony I

guess, so I took the picture.

He said that I should walk around because the wands normally pick out their owners. I walked around

the shelves of wands. I never realised that one could get different wands. They were in their boxes and

he suggested that I feel some of them. Some were heavy, some were light. Some looked plain and novelbin

others were so beautiful. We came to the middle of the store where there was a golden table with a 'Do

Not Touch' sign plastered on it.

On the table were five wand holders, two of which were gone. I rushed over to the table and looked

through the glass protector.

"They're beautiful, "

I took out my phone to take another picture but Jeffrey stopped me from taking one. It wasn't allowed,

not without their consent I guess or something.

Margot and Jeffrey followed me. There was a grey wand, transparent. It looked like trapped spirits were

moving in the amazing wand.

The other wand was floating, unlike the other two, and is lifted by a tiny whirlwind. You could hear how

strong the wind's blowing.

But the other wand, that one is truly special. The part where one holds the wand is made up of roses,

roses that are perfume's scent made it through the glass.

The wand doesn't look neatly caved like 99% of the wands in this shop, it looks like it was plucked from

a tree. It has beautiful healthy vines twirling around the stick that made it truly special.

"What are these wands for?"

"Those are for the five witches. Very extraordinary, each with their special power. The wands were

created to complete the capacities of their powerful skills, " told Jeffrey.

I nodded my head.

"They are royals here. They wear tiaras and everything, " Margot added.

I chuckled. That sounded awesome.

"Where are the other three girls? I'm assuming the two rightful owners have their wands with them?"

Jeffrey nodded his head, "yeah. They shouldn't be hard to miss, they stand out like a sore thumb, "

"The three no one knows who they are and where they are. The girl with the affinity for fire is called

Bethany the other has the affinity for water. She's Sindra. They're best friends and play a huge part in

modern-day Meledsan. We're missing air, spirit and earth. Their family didn't keep a record of the girls I

guess,"

I was confused and Margot and Jeffrey picked up on this. So he decided to fill me in, "the gift is passed

down from generation to generation. The last born female of the family gets the power. That's how

Sindra and Bethany grew up knowing their fate, the other three. Not so much,"

"Except for spirit, of course," Margot made known.

Jeffrey nodded his head and pointed at her, "yeah, the affinity for spirit is different. It travels to any

family. Doesn't go down in a generation and so therefore only stays once in a family,"

"But anyway, Tamzyn. We must still find your special wand, " Margot reminded.

I nodded my head and followed her around. I, maybe like many students, want one of those wands

though. They're beautiful and so alive.

•••••

Kak= shit.

Picture: Ollivindars Wand Shop.

So... Tamzyn is from South Africa and she's a coloured girl. Yes it's also a slur there and "coloured"

people hate that term but what can they do when they're legally called a slur.